While I am also considering a new machine, my current one is a 1.7ghz PIV with 512 DDR Ram. One 40 Gig harddrive (not nearly big enough!!) Nvidia GEForce 2 MX 200 with only 32 mb ram! XP Pro. I have Poser 5. It's a bit slow, but I can create and render just about anything. With Poser the system ram is most important.....followed by the processor. As stated, the Video card does not matter with Poser, but does with DAZ studio and Vue. I'm also considering just updating my ram. I just noticed your comment about taking the side panel off and agree with the comments about power supply and fan. The design of the case can also create overheating. Don't know where you got your computer, but I would guess it was built from scratch? I really agree with most of what Fishnose says....although I'm not sure you need that many fans or even that large of a PSU to combat overheating. The quality of whatever you get is critical. For instance, steer clear of those plastic fans!! I've burned up more of those suckers than I can count. And get a top quality PSU.....not a cheap one.... and check to be sure it will handle the Processor and other hardware. Personally I would rather pay a few hundred dollars extra and know I have top quality stuff. The PSU, the quality of the fans, the quality of the case.....all of these are as important as the motherboard and processor.